'Lights Out' shuts off

Merriman opts for knee surgery after painful opener

Linebacker Shawne Merriman won't be there Monday when the Chargers start their official offseason workouts, but he is expected to be back on the field this week.<br> John R. McCutchen/Union-Tribune
— John R. McCutchen / John R. McCutchen/Union-Tribune

Linebacker Shawne Merriman won't be there Monday when the Chargers start their official offseason workouts, but he is expected to be back on the field this week. John R. McCutchen/Union-Tribune
— John R. McCutchen / John R. McCutchen/Union-Tribune

In a decision that was shocking only because of the way he played two days earlier, Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman Tuesday decided he can play no more in his current condition.

General Manager A.J. Smith said Merriman informed him Tuesday he will undergo surgery to reconstruct the torn ligaments in his left knee.

“He walked in and said it didn't feel right and he was going to shut it down,” Smith said.

Merriman will be placed on injured reserve and miss the remainder of the season. He is expected to return in time for the start of the 2009 season, which is his final one under contract with the Chargers.

It is not known when or where Merriman will have the surgery to repair the tears in his lateral collateral and posterior cruciate ligaments. He did not return messages.

The rehabilitation is expected to be six to 12 months. Doctors familiar with the procedure and rehabilitation said it is an arduous process.

“You don't recover your agility and position sense and coordination overnight,” said Dr. Neal ElAttrache, director of sports medicine at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles. “There is reason to believe that takes a year. Could he come back and play in under a year? Could he come back and play in six, seven, eight months? Yes. Would he be the same player?

“I'm glad he's getting it now. It gives him the chance of recovery. Now he's got a great chance of coming back and being a very high-performance player by (the start of next) season. The longer the better. His performance ability should be pretty good by July.”

ElAttrache said Merriman should be able to be close to the same player he has been over the past three seasons, a span in which he led the NFL with 39½ sacks and developed into one of the best all-around defensive players in the league.

“It's very likely he's going to come back from this and very likely he's going to be an impact player,” ElAttrache said.

Merriman played in Sunday's season opener and played well.

“Considering he had one leg,” linebacker Shaun Phillips said, “he played really good.”

Merriman, a Pro Bowler after each of his first three seasons, appeared strong late in the game. Even as quarterback Jake Delhomme got rid of the ball quickly on Carolina's winning drive, Merriman had three hurries in a span of nine passes.

“He was selling out in the first quarter, and he was selling out in the fourth quarter,” linebacker Matt Wilhelm said.

Merriman did have trouble with his bulky brace staying in place and was bothered by the lack of stability in his knee. He was mostly going forward, and it was always known he would feel unstable and lack explosiveness going side to side.

There has been much second-guessing, inside and outside the organization, of Merriman's decision to put off surgery.

Merriman has played with the torn PCL since the second exhibition game of his rookie season in 2005. He tore the LCL in a game against Tennessee last December.